Methods and apparatuses for electrophotographic printing are known. Electrophotographic printing generally includes imparting an image on a final receptor by forming a latent image on selectively charged areas of a photoconducter such as a charged drum, depositing a charged toner onto the charged areas of the photoconductor to thereby develop an image on the photoconductor, and transferring the developed toner from the charged drum under heat and/or pressure onto the final receptor. An optional transfer member can be located between the photoconductor and the final receptor. Examples of electrophotgraphic apparatuses and methods are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,276,492; 5,380,611; and 5,410,392. The '492 and '392 patents both disclose that a preferred toner is a liquid toner comprising carrier liquid and pigmented polymeric toner particles which are essentially non-soluble in the carrier liquid at room temperature, and which solvate in the carrier liquid at elevated temperatures. Examples of such liquid toners are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,651. The '492 patent and the '392 patent both disclose that the toner image can be transferred to a receiving substrate such as paper ('492 patent: column 7, lines 19-20; '392 patent: column 4, lines 57-58). While having their own utility, paper substrates are not desired for all applications and uses. The '611 patent discloses that the toner image can be transferred to a receiving such as a transparency, without disclosing any particular composition of a transparency (column 4, lines 17).
It is also known that certain polymeric and ionomeric compositions are suitable for use with some printing methods and apparatuses. For example, flexographic printing on films made from SURLYN brand ionomeric resin, available from E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Wilmington, Del. has been suggested. See Brooks & Pirog, Processing of Surlyn.RTM. lonomer Resins by Blown and Cast Film Processes, p. 18, Du Pont Company, Plastics Department, Polyolefins Division, Technical Services Laboratory. U.S. Pat. No. 5,196,246 discloses a wall decorating system that, in one embodiment, includes a SURLYN blend film that can be printed by etching, embossing, flexographic printing, silk screening, or gravure processes (column 14, lines 16-19).
What is desired is an imaging medium that can be printed by electrophotographic methods and apparatuses to produce high quality images and that is strong, durable, and abrasion-resistant.